Can-weighing machine.



I a SHEETS-SHEET I.

Patented May 9 A Y SEELY CAN WEIGHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION mu) ocnzs. 1914.

Wit nesses A. Y. SEELY4 CAN WEIGHING MACHINE.

A. -Y. SEELY. CAN WEIGHING MACHINE.

Patented May 9, 1916. e Swan s-$11551 a Q f/ikz/ffizlg lnventdrAPPLICATION FILED OCT- 29, I914.

Witnesses AttorneyQ A. Y. SEELY.

CAN WEIGHING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED OCT-29,1914.

Patented May 9, 1916.

GSHEETS-SHEET4.

N R 1% Mn |nventor Witnesses I Attorneys A. Y. SEELY. CAN WEIGHINGMACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT- 29. IBM.

Patented May 9 6 SHEETS-SHEET 5- A. Y. SEELY.

CAN WEIGHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT 29, 1914. v

Patented May 9, 1916.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 6 Jamil/1922a Witnesses Attorneys UNITED s 'r .a'rnsrarnnr orrros.

ARTHUR Y. SEELY, or BLAiNE, WASHINGTON.

CAN-WEIGHING MACHINE.

To (ZZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, ARTHUR Y. SEELY, acitizen .of the United States, residing at Blaine, in the county of lVhatcom and State offiVashingtomhave invented a new and.

useful Can-WVeighing Hachine, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to machines for i weighing cans after they havebeen filled,

one of the objects of the invention being to provide mechanism whichwill operate automaticajlly to weigh the cans as they are fed theretoand to discard all cans of less or more than a predetermined iveight.

1V ith the foregoing andother objects in view which will appear asthedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the com- ..binatmn andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterde-.,

scribed and claimed, it beingunderstood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made Within thescope of'what is claimed, without departing from the spirit-of theinvention.

shown.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of In said drawings:Figure 1 is a top plan viewof the machine, those portions of thefeeding and discharging belts remote from i the weighing and discardingmechanism being removed. F ig. 2 is a section through the weighingmechanism on line AB Fig. 1, certain of the parts being shown inelevation." Fig. 3 is a section on line C-D Fig.

I 2.. Fig. 4: is a perspective view of a portion of the weighingmechanism. F g. 5 1s a side l'elevationj partly in section of "a portionof the, wei hin mechanism and. showin the i I h parts shifted to thepositions assumed thereby durmg the actuation of the deflecting .lin 'cror switch. Fi 6 is a side elevation "of a portion of the said weighingmechanism a-nd showing the relative positions of theparts when uncoupledfrom the deflect- 1 ing finger or switch.

plan view of a portion of the scale mechanism. I the ratchet engagingdog and its trip, the parts being shown inthe positions assumed" therebyduring the disengagement of the Fig. 7 is an enlarged Fig. 8 is anenlarged detail view of dog from the ratchet. Fig. 9 is a Viewsimilar-to Fig.2 but showing thestructure modiufied so as to discardcans that are overweight as well as those that are under Specificationof Letters Patent.

the invention has been Patented May 9, 1916.

Application filed October 29, 1914. Serial No. 869,290.

weight. Fig. 10 is a perspective view ofa portion of the modifiedmechanism.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates a tableinto which extends an endless feed belt 2 above which belt is arrangedan upstanding longitudinal partition 8 from which diverge deflectingmembers 1. Belt 2 is spaced from but disposed in alinement with a deli\ering belt 5 adapted to be driven by a shaft 6 and this shaft is alsoadapted to drive endless side .belts 7 located close to and parallelwith the belt 5. The shaft 6 can be actuatedin any preferred manner, asby means of a chain 8 receiving motion from a suitably disposed sprocketon the main drive shaft 9 of the machine. This drive shaft is alsoprovided with a sprocket lO adapted to transmit motion to an endlessconveyer chain 11 located at one side of the feed belt 2, this conveyerchain engaging an idler sprocket 12 and being provided, at regularintervals, with PYOJGCUOIIS 13 preferably in the form of fingersextending outwardly and laterally from the chain, as shown. In themachine illustrated two of these chains 11 are provided. the feed belt 2being extended between and parallel with the chains and said chainsbeing disposed in alinement with the longitudinal centers of the sidebelts 7. Belt 2 as well as the upper flights of the chains 11 ispreferably flush with the top of the table 1 so that a can or otherobject deflected laterally from the belt 2 by the deflector 4 will slidereadily onto the table 1 and thence onto the chain 11 where it will beengaged by one of the projections 13. Upstanding guards 14: are securedupon thetable adjacent the outer sides of the chains 11 and constitutemeans for preventing cans or otherobjects from being pushed over and oifof the chains 11. These guards 14: extend up to the outer end portionsof openings 15 formed in the table 1 between the'chains 11 In themachine illustrated, two units are provided,'each unit including aconveying chain, a weighing platform, and mechanism for automaticallydiscarding cans that are under weight. It is therefore necessary only todescribe one of these units in'order to convey a full understanding ofmechanism;

Journaled in the superstructure 1'9 and depending therefrom to a pointacent the front or receiving end of chain 11 is a spindle provided atits lower end with radial arms 21 the free ends of whichare bent in thedirection of rotation as shown at 22.

active end rounded as shown, while its inner end is deslgned normallyto-bear against the shaft 30. Thus when the shaft. is rotated in onedirection, the convex face of the tripping device 28 will wipe along thebeveled end 27 it dog 24 and depress said end so as thus to .lift thedog out of engagement with the ratchet teeth When, however, the shaft 30is rotated in the opposite direction,

the outwardly projecting end. of the tripping device 28will swinginwardly toward shaft 30 and ride over the beveled end 27 of the dog 24:without actuating said dog.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that during the rocking of shaft30, thedog .24 will be successively raised ti'om and lowered intoengagement with the ratchet teeth 23.

A crank arm 31 issecured to and rotates with the'shaft 30 and isconnected, by a rod 32, to one end ofa lever 33 fulcrumed under thetable 1, the'said rod 32 extending downwardly within one of the posts18. vThe other end of the lever 33 has a lateral. projection orroller34: designed to ride within a cam groove 35 formed 1n one face of a disk36} which rotates with the drive shaft 9.

' Thus it will be seen that during the rotation of shaft 9 and diskSid-arm 31 willbe .oscil' latcd so as to rock the shaft 30 and cause thedo 24 to be successivelyjraised and lowered at its'active or ratchetengaging end. The .cam is sosshaped and proportioned as'to release theratchet 23 in properly timedrelation to the movement of chain 11 sothat, after one of the projections 13 has movedinto'eugagement withacahor the like, the spindle Zllxwill be free to rotate under thepressure exerted thereagainst by another can v fed thereto by the hell;resulting in the can arriving in position to be engaged by the 4 nextprojection 13 on the chain 11.

A bracket 37 is mounted on the superstructure 19 and fulcrumcd thereinis a balance lever 38 provided at one end with a cross head 39 while itsother end is adapted to swing upwardly and downwardly under a stop ear40 extending from a post 41 on the superstructure 19. ,This lever isprovided upon that arm thereof remote from cross head 39, with anadjustable weight 42 and extending from the weight toward the .free endof said arm of the lever is a screw threaded stem 43 having weights 44screwed thereon, these weights being adjustable to any desired points onthe stem 43 and acting whereby accidental displacement of the weightsllupon the "stem 43 is prevented. Obviously by means of a balance levermounted in the manner described, a minute adjustment of the scales canbe effected.

A rod 45 extends downwardly from the head 39 and through one of theposts 17, the

lower end of this red being bent laterally and upwardly and having oneof the platforms 16 secured to it.

Extending downwardly from the stop ear 40mm parallel with the post 4-1are guide rods 4-6 on which is mounted a stop block 47 having a beveledlower end as shown at 48. The free end of lever 38 projects between theear 40 and the block 47 as shown particularly in Fig. 4.

A crank arm 49 is secured to and rotates withthe shaft 30 and isconnected by a pitman 50 to a wedging block 51 slidably mounted on thesuperstructure 19 and movable into. positionunder blocker? so as toengage the beveled end 48 and hold saidblock 17 in elevated positionwith the end of lever 38 pressed against the ear 4:0. Wedging block 51has a stem 52 extending therefrom and guided within a bracket 53.

Pivotally mounted on one side of the block 51 is a dog 54 having a hook55 pivotal'ly hook normally engaging a lug 56 extending laterally fromthe block 51, the dog 54 and the lug 56 being preferably arranged upon aside plate 57 secured to the block 51. A finger 58 is secured to thesuperstiucture lQ and extends above the block 51 and dog 54 andconstitutes means for engaging the hook 55 and lifting it intoengagement with the lug'56, should said hook be out of engage-v mentduring the movement of the block 51' as lock nuts when-brought tighttogether 'connected thereto close to its free end, this inone direction.A bracket 60 is gmounted on the superstructure and carries a spring 61.designed to engage the free end of the dog 54' and assist in moving itdownwardly whenrthchook 55 becomes disengaged from the 1ug 56. a

A tripping ear v62 is arranged upon one sideoi the lever 3 and is sopositioned that,

wardly, the ear will strike the hook 55 and swing it-backwardly out ofengagementwith 64 substantially the lug 56.

J ournaled within the superstructure 19 isa vertical shaft 63 extendinclose to the inner end portion of the plat orm 16 and provided, at itslower end, with a switchingjor deflecting finger 64. The upper end ofthe shaft 63 has a crank arm 65 connected by a pitman 66 to one end of alever 67 which is fulcrumed on the superstructure 19; A spring 68 bearsagainst lever 67 so as to hold it normally in one/position and to holdthe shaft 63'with its deflecting fin er or switch parallel with t e sideedges of the belt 5. A-rod 69 is pivotally connected to lever 67 andslidably mounted within a guide 70, thisrod being provided at its freeend, with a laterally extending projection 71 resting on thesuperstructure 19 and in the path of the dog 54 when said dog isreleased and riding upon the superstructure 19.

Deflecting wings 72 are supported above the belts 7 and divergetowardthe platforms 16. During the continuous rotation of the maindrive shaft9, the belts 2, 5 and 7 and the chains 11 are continuously driven.Likewise the constantly rotating cam disk 36 is continuously rockingshaft 30 in the'manner; hereinbefore described so that the ratchet teeth23 will be intermittently held and released. The filled cans to beweighed are placed on'the belt 2 in parallel rows, the partition 3extending between the rows. These cams are brought forwardly and thefirst one in each row is brought against the inwardly extending finger21 in the path thereof but this finger will be held against rotationuntil one of the projections 13 on the adjacent chain '11 is broughtinto proper position to engage a new can supplied to the chain 11. Assoon as the-projection 13 arrives in this position, the dog 24. will belifted out of engagement with tooth 23 and, consequently, the can on thebelt 2 will ush against the finger 21 in the path thereo and cause thestem 20 to rotate, thereby bringing one of the cans in position abovethe chain 11, the deflector 4 serving to shift the can laterally oil ofbelt 2 and onto chain'li. In other words, no matter how close togetherthe cans may be on the belt 2, all of the cans will be held back by thefingers 21 until one of the projections 13 arrives in position toproperly engage a can whereupon the stem 20 rom which the fingers 21project will be 1 free to rotate under the pressureof the cansthereagainst so that one of the cans will be deflected laterally ontothe chain 11. The can assumes a positioniabove chain 11, the

projection 13 in rear thereof pushing the can longitudinally of thetable 1 and toward the platform 16, the finger 13 wiping downwardly uponthe can, thus to push the can completely onto the platform 16 and-saidcan, as it moves onto the platform, serving to push the preceding canoff of the platform and onto the moving belt 7.

Under normal conditions the hook 55 is in engagement with the lug 56and, consequently, the block 51 which. is connected by pitman 50 tocrank arm 49, willbe free to reciprocate without causing the dog 54 tocome against the inwardly extending finger "71. During thisreciprocation of the blockthe free end of balance lever 38 is thuscaused to press against the stop ear 40. As

another can of fullor over-weight is pushed onto the platform 16 and thepreceding can pushed off of the platform, the balance lever 38 willcontinue to remain In normal position with its free end bearing upwardlyagainst the step our 40. If, however, acan below weight should be forcedonto the platform 16, the weights 42 and 44 will swing the lever 38downwardly as soon as the wedging block 51 recedes from the block 47 andsaid block 47 moves downwardly on therods 46. This downward movement ofthe lever 38 will result in the trip 62 striking the hook 55 andswinging it back out of engagement with lug 56. Consequently the dog54will gravitate onto the superstructure 19 so that, during the forwardmovement of the wedging block 55 toward block 47 and 1 the consequentelevation of block 47 and restoration of lever 38 to its normal orelevated position, dog 54 will push against the finger 71. Thus rod 69will pull on lever 67 and, through pitman 66 on the crank arm 65. Thiswill cause the shaft 63 to rotate and the switch or deflecting finger 64will swing to the position indicatedby dotted lines in Fig. 3.Therefore, when another can is pushed onto the platform 16 and the underweight can is pushed ofi' of the platform and onto the belt- 7, fingeror switch 64 will deflect said can laterally so that, as it movesoutwardly with the'belt 7, it will pass the end of tlh .dflector 72. andcontinue along the belt 7. Under normal conditions, however, where thecans are of or above a predetermined weight, the switch or finger 64will not be shifted laterally in the manner-described but will remain inthe position shown by full lines in Fig, 3'

so that as soonas' the can'of proper weight is discharged onto the/belt7, it will be and thence shifted laterally onto the belt 5 which willconvey it to points where further canning operations are to be effected.

As soon as the under weight can has been discharged from the platform16, the lever '38 is restored to its raised position by the elevation ofblock 47 as hereinbefore de- I so forward movement of Wedging block 51,the

finger 71 and rod 69 will not be actuated. From the foregoingdescription it will be seen that cans may be placed promiscuously uponthe feeding belt 2 and will be fed in properly timed relation to thechains 11,

then weighed and, should any of the cans be found under weight, saidunder weight cans ,will be carried onto the table 1 by the belts '7 4whereas when the cans are full weight or over weight, they will bedirected onto the belt5 and conveyed to points where the canningoperation will be completed.

Under some conditions it isdesirable to discard from the machine notonly cans that are under weight but also those that are over weight. Inorder that the present machine may operate properly to discard the overweight cans, a modification may be used such as illustrated in Figs. 9and 10.

--In this modified construction, the lever 38 is mounted asliereinbefore described and has the slidable blocks 47 and 51 mountedadjacent thereto, there being a dog 54 shiftable with the block 51 ashereinbefore described. This modified construction differs from thathereinbefore referred to, however,

in that the ear 73, which corresponds with the ear 10, does not overhangthe end of lever 38 and, consequently, does not constitu'te a stoptherefor.

Thus it will be seen that the lever 38 is free to swing upwardly ordownwardly out of its normal position without any interference by theear 73 or the block 47. A supplemental lever 74 is fulcrumed between thesides of bracket 37 and one arm of this lever bears upwardly against oneend of the lever 38 while the other end is adapted to bear downwardlyagainst a stop 75. A weight 76 is adjustably mounted on this leveradjacent stop 75, thus to hold said lever 74 normally pressed againstthe end of lever 38.

' Instead of utilizing a hook such as shown at in Figs. 5 and 6, a hook77 is employed, the same being adapted to engage lug 56, and beingprovided, beyond its upper end, with a head 78 connected. to the book bya laterally extended bridging member 79. A

tripping ear 80 corresponding with the'ear 62 hereinbefore referred tois secured to lever 38 and works between the upper end of hook 77 andthe head 78, but, during the descent of the ear 80 it will striketheupper end of hook 77 and throw said hook backwardly out of engagementwith lug 56, and, during the ascent of the said ear 80 it will Strikethe lower end of the head 78- and again shift the hook 77 out ofengagement with lug 56. In this modified construction the same means,such as finger 58, is to be employed for resetting the hook 77 as hasbeen illustrated in the preferred :1.- bodiment of the invention.

For the purpose of gripping lever 38 while a can is being placed inposition on the scales, a hook 81 is secured to shaft 30 so as to rotatetherewith, this hook being so'shaped and proportioned as to move toposition over the post 41 and ear 73 so as to assume a position upon theupper portion of lever 38 While block47 is pressing upwardly against thelever. Thus the lever will be gripped as efliciently as in thepreviously described structure wherein said lever is held at certaintimes between-the block 47 and the ear 4:0.

In using the modified structure herein de scribed, it may be assumed,for example,

that all cans weighing more than 5 ounce in excess ofa predeterminedquantity are to under the action of the sliding block 51, the 1 hook 81moves over the post 11 so as to grip the end of lever 3.8 between saidhook 81 and the block 47. While the lever is thus held, the can isplaced on the scales as hereinbefore described and, when the lever isreleased it will either remain balanced or practically balanced or 'elsewill swing downwardly because- Iof an under weight can or swing upwardlyshould the weight of the can be sufficient to overbalance lever 38 andthe supplemental weight 76. Should the lever 38 swing: downwardly, hook77 will be disengaged from lug 56 by ear 80 moving downwardly intocontact with the hook as described in connection with the apparatusshown in Figs. 1 to 8 inclusive. Should the lever 38 swing upwardlyunder the action of an over weight can, the car 80 will strike the head78 and likewise disengage hook 77 from lug56. In either event, the canwhen delivered from they scales will be discarded in the mannerhereanism including a platform, and means for supplying an article totheplatform, of a side belt for receiving an article from the platformfaseparate delivering belt, a fixed deflector for directing articles fromthe side belt and onto the delivery belt, said side and delivery beltsbeing parallel, a switch, and means operated by the weighing mechanismwhen subjected to other than a predetermined Weight, for shifting theswitch to deflect the article laterally out of its normal position onthe side belt, thereby to pass the fixed deflector without engagementthere with. i

2. The combination with weighing mechanism including a platform, meansfor supplying articles one at a time to the platform, each articleconstituting means for pushing the preceding article from the platform,a delivering belt, a separate side belt parallel with the deliveringbelt, for receiving the articles when traveling in their normalcoursefrom the platform, and a fixed deflector for directing said articlesfrom the side belt to the delivering belt, of a switch, and meansoperated by the weighing mechanism when the platform is subjected toother than a predetermined weight, for shifting the switch anddeflecting the arti' "cles out of their normal paths when dischargedfrom the platform, thereby to pass the fixed deflector withoutengagement therewith.

3. In a weighing machine, the combination with weighing mechanismincluding a balanced lever and a platform connected to the lever, ofmeans for limiting the upward movement of the weighted end of thebalanced lever, a block, means for moving said block into and out ofengagement with the lower portion of the balanced lever during theweighing operation, thereby to momentarily support said lever in itsraised or overbalanced position, a switch adjacent the platform, anormally. inactive dog movable in unison with the block, and meansoperated by the balanced lever when moved, for'releasing the dog toactuate the switch.

. In a weighing machine, the combination with a weighted balanced leverand a platform connected thereto, of a stop for limiting the upwardmovement of the balanced lever, a block movable intermittently intoengagement with the lower portion of the balanced lever to hold' itintermittently against its stop, a dog movablein unison with said block,means for holding the dog in inactive position, means operated by themovement of the balanced lever for releasing the dog, a normallyinactive switch adjacent the platform, and means operated by thereleased dog for shifting the switch into position to deflect out of itsnormal path an under-weight article delivered from the platform.

I 5. In a weighing-machine, the combination with a balanced lever and aplatform connected thereto, of a stop for limiting the upward movementof the lever, a block under the lever, a wedging element mounted 'forreciprocation and constituting means for raising and lowering the blockduring such reciprocation thereby to lift the lever against its stop, adog movable with the wedging-element, means for normally supporting thedog out .of active position, means operated by the movement of thebalanced lever for releasing ,the dog, a switch, and means operated bythe released dog during the reciprocation of the wedg ing element forshifting the switch.

6. In a weighing machine, the combination with a balanced lever and aplatform connected thereto, of a stop for limiting the upward movementof the lever, a block under the lever, a wedging element mounted forreciprocation and constituting means for raising and lowering the blockduring such reciprocation thereby to lift the lever against its stop, adog movable with the wedging element, means for normally sup-. portingthe dog out of active position, means operated by tne movement of thebalanced lever for releasing the dog, a switch, means operatedby thereleased dog during the reciprocation of the wedging element forshifting the switch, and means for re setting the dog during thereciprocation of the wedging element.

7. In a weighing machine, the combination with a balanced lever and a,platform connected to the lever, of a continuously operating rock shaft,a stop for limiting the upward movement of the balanced lever, means opeated by the rock shaft for suc cessively pressing the lever against thestop and releasing said lever to permit downward movement thereof, a dogshiftable with said means, and means for holding the dog normally set orinactive, means operated by the balanced lever during-its movement forreleasing the dog, a switch adjacent the platform, means operated by thereleased dog for actuating the switch.

8. In a weighing machine, the combination with a balanced lever and aplatformward movement thereof, adog shiftable with said means,means forholding the dog normally set or lnactive, means operated by the balancedlever during its movement for releasing the dog, a. switch #Eijaomit theI platform, means operated; by the releasefi;

grating means.

dog for actuatin the switch, and fixed means adjacent t 0 dog forresetting'tha dog and disengaging it; from the $Wit0h op- 9. In a;welghi ng machine, the cnnmlii ll v r tion with a. lever and a platformconnected;

;to the lever, of a coni inpously operatingrock shaft, va stop forhunting he fipward movement of the lever, maagas gpemiedi by the rockshaft for successively Fressing fine lever against the stop and mimsing{mid levar to permit downwmd mwammit ammmmm of, a shifizabia- Wl for3101611315 the dog :1 the, mamas opeyawi either its ugward m m "forl'eieaaing flu: sing, a. s m

t'srizmm er durmg mnvamem "21s, mam

, switch, and v means operated by the'mlezzssai dog fer ac

